RESOLUTION NO 19 2017NQ CP DATED FEBRUARY 06, 2017, ON MAIN DUTIES AND MEASURES FOR IMPROVING BUSINESS ENVIRONMENT AND ENHANCING NATIONAL COMPETITIVENESS IN 2017 AND ORIENTATION t

THE GOVERNMENT - SOCIALIST REPUBLIC OF VIETNAM Independence - Freedom - Happiness No 19-2017/NQ-CP Hanoi, February 06, 2017 RESOLUTION ON MAIN DUTIES AND MEASURES FOR IMPROVING BUSINESS ENVIRONMENT AND ENHANCING NATIONAL COMPETITIVENESS IN 2017 AND ORIENTATION TOWARDS 2020 THE GOVERNMENT Pursuant to the Law on Governmental organization dated June 19, 2015; Pursuant to the National Assembly’s Resolution No.142/2016/QH13 dated April 12, 2016 on 5-year socio-economic development plan 2016 – 2020; Resolution No.23/2016/QH14 dated November July, 2016 on 2017 socio-economic development plan; On the basis of discussion and voting by the Government’s members, HEREBY PASSES A RESOLUTION I OVERALL SITUATION According to the World Bank’s evaluation in 2016, Vietnam’s business environment is up places to 82nd out of 190 from and achieves significant improvements in comparison to ASEAN countries This is the most advanced improvement from 20081 Those above-mentioned achievements are result of the Government and local regulatory authorities’ endless effort to improve the business environment in the past years In spite of such improvements, most of Vietnam’s business environment indices are still far from the average score of ASEAN-4 countries or even that of ASEAN-6 countries Vietnam ranking in the World Economic Forum’s Global Competitiveness Report slipped places to 60th compared to 56th rank in 2015 and placed behind most of ASEAN countries (6 countries), only above Laos and Cambodia2 Vietnam ranking in the World Intellectual Property Organization’s Global Innovation Index Report slipped places to 59th out of 128 countries (35.4 score out of 100) compared to 52nd out of 128 countries in 2015 and placed behind most of ASEAN countries Vietnam ranking in the United Nations’ e- government report is up 10 places compared to 2014 to 89th in the world and is ranked 06th in ASEAN region In order to keep pace with ASEAN-4 countries4, Vietnam must put an enormous effort to make breakthrough and radical reform in every sector of the economy, in terms of scale and efficiency II OBJECTIVES AND MAJOR TARGETS FOR COMPETITIVENESS AND BUSINESS IMPROVEMENT It is expected that Vietnam’s business environment reaches the ASEAN-4 countries’ average ranking by 2017 inclusive - Follow The World Bank and World Economic Forum's indicators for business environment assessment; consolidate and remain achievements in business environment and make effort to get higher scores in all indicators Continue to make radical reform in regulations on doing business, specialized management of commodities, and import and export services according to international practices - At least reach the ASEAN-4 countries’ average scores of business environment indicators To be specific: + Starting a business ranks top 70 countries; protecting minority investors ranks top 80 countries; transparency and ease of access to credit ( according to the world bank’s approach attain top 30 “Ease of access to loan” indicator is expected to reach top 40 countries by 2020 (evaluated the way of the WEF’s approach); + Reduce time for carrying out the following formalities: Procedures for paying taxes and social insurance premiums shall be finished within 168 hours/year ( including 119 hours for tax payment and 49 hours for payment of social insurance premiums); procedure for licensing construction permit and relevant formalities shall be finished with 120 days including assessment of basic design and technical design ( issue of construction permit shall be finished within 63 days ); procedure for water supply and drainage shall be finished within days; procedure for property registration shall be finished within 20 days; procedure for getting electricity shall be finished within 35 days; customs procedure for trading across borders shall be completed within 70 hours (for exportation) and within 90 hours (for importation); a contractual dispute shall be settled within 300 days and bankruptcy shall be solved within 30 months - Create incentives to start a business, create favorable, stable and creative investment and business environment for start-ups; strive to have at least million start-ups in 2020 including at least 0.5% of which is innovative startups It is expected that Vietnam will attain the ASEAN-4 countries’ average scores in competitiveness indicators (according to rankings of the World Economic Forum) by 20205 - ”Overall requirements” indicator is expected to reach the minimum score of 4.8 (currently 4.5 ) - ”Efficiency” indicator is expected to reach the minimum score of 4.4 (currently 4.1 ) - ”Innovation and business sophistication” indicator is expected to reach the minimum score of 3.8 (currently 3.5 ) It is expected that the “innovation “indicator will reach the ASEAN-5 countries’ average score by 2020 according to the WIPO9 - ”Institutions” indicator 10 is expected to reach the minimum score of 55 ( currently 51.7 ) - ”Resources and Research” indicator 11 is expected to reach the minimum score of 31 (currently 30.1) - “Infrastructures” indicator 12 is expected to reach the minimum score of 43 (currently 36.7 ) - “Market development” indicator 13 is expected to reach the minimum score of 51 (currently 43.0 ) - “Business development” indicator 14 is expected to reach the minimum score of 35 (currently 30.6 ) As for e-government (according to the United Nations’ approach): - Carry out radical reforms in 03 following indicators: Telecommunication Infrastructure Index (TII), Human Capital Index (HCl) and Online Service Index (OSI); Strive to attain 80th by 2017 inclusive and reach the ASEAN-5 countries’ average score and minimum ranking at 70th in the world in 2020 15 - Strive to attain the 3rd ranking in common public services serving demands of majority of citizens and enterprises; provide online public services in fee payment, receipt and transfer of application results at the 4th ranking by 2017 Specific duties and their indexes and indicators are specified in Annexes attached hereto III RESPONSIBILITIES OF REGULATORY AUTHORITIES Every Minister, Head of Ministerial-level agencies, Governmental Offices, President of People’s Committees of provinces shall be accountable to the Government and Prime Minister for results of indices stipulated in Annexes attaches hereto and direct to: a) Develop and complete action plans and programs for implementation of the Decree No.192017/NQ-CP before January 28, 2017 which assign responsibilities to each entity and specify implementation schedule of each duty which is assessed by index specified in Annexes attached hereto b) The Ministry of Planning and Investment, Ministry of Science and Technology, Ministry of Information and Communications shall direct regulatory authorities and People’s Committees of provinces to actively and complete study on the methods of calculation and meaning of ranking indexes; punctually provide information for international organizations as the foundation for evaluation and ranking before March 31, 2017 Ministries and authorities assigned to take on responsibilities for improving specific indexes shall take charge of and cooperate with relevant regulatory authorities and the People’s Committees of provinces in measures for improvement, and request the Prime Minister to give directions, where necessary c) The Ministry of Planning and Investment shall play a leading role in monitoring of improvement of business environment and national competiveness The Ministry of Science and Technology shall play a leading role in monitoring of improvement of innovation The Ministry of Information and Communications shall play the leading role in monitoring of e-government These above-mentioned Ministries playing the leading role in specific aspects shall: - Take charge of, accelerate and inspect implementation of duties and measures for improving indexes of assigned fields carried out by regulatory authorities and the People’s Committees of provinces - Aggregate index improvement results; submit proposals and reports on policies, mechanism, measures and duties for improving assigned indexes d) Specialized regulatory authorities and Ministries managing imports and exports shall promptly perform duties and take measures for radically reforming specialized management and inspection of imports and exports according to the Government and Prime Minister’s Directions in the Resolution No 19/NQ-CP dated March 12, 2015, Resolution No.19-2016/NQ-CP dated April 28, 2016, the Prime Minister’s Decision No.2026/QD-TTg dated November 17, 2015 on approval for measures for improving effect and efficiency of specialized inspection of imports and exports In the first quarter of 2017, issue a list of imports and exports undergoing the specialized customs inspection towards reducing inspection, time and simplifying procedures ; focus on post-clearance audit ; review and amend regulations on receipt of declaration of conformity of imports and exports towards annulling or simplifying procedures; not receive declaration of conformity of imports and exports not governed by any national regulation; instruct domestic conformity assessment bodies to intensively and proactively recognize the foreign conformity assessment bodies’ conformity assessment results of goods governed by technical regulations and standards which are higher than that of Vietnam; separate conformity assessment activities from State management activities as stipulated in the Law on goods quality and relevant laws following that the State management authorities will not issue certificates of conformity to regulations/standards in case of specialized inspection Boost certification of conformity in the export countries and focus on post-clearance audit of imports Introduce online procedures for specialized inspection ( submission of applications and result release, etc.); create networks for transferring information between specialized inspecting authorities via the national single-window system and ASEAN single-window system in order to reduce time for specialized inspection procedures Amend regulations on fees for specialized inspection, ensure the transparency of methods of cost calculation and identification of fee payers, and gradually apply price mechanism dd) Continue to develop and operate the portal for receipt of complaints and processing and publishing of administrative results, and increase the efficiency of such portal; publicly receive and resolve complaints The Heads of regulatory authorities and people’s Committees of provinces shall duly follow regulations on accountability and address citizens and enterprises’ complaints Effectively implement the Prime Minister’s Decision No.45/2016/QD-TTg on receipt of applications and release of administrative results via public postal services dated October 19, 2016 e) Effectively apply single-window systems, interconnected single-window system and information technology to carry out administrative procedures, provide online public services and egovernment; apply the ISO quality control system to State administrative organizations and authorities; create national database systems, give priority to establish national population, land and enterprise database systems; encourage to lease information technology services for purpose of operation of State authorities, outsource payment-related services ; offer training in information technology, and give priority to develop specialized information security equipment and products g) Exert disciplines and assign responsibilities for implementing this Resolution to heads of authorities: - Frequently inspect and supervise the progress and results of implementation of the action plans for implementation of the Resolution No.19-2017/NQ-CP - Strictly comply with report regime Before 15th of the last month of every quarter and before 15th of December, aggregate and submit status quarterly and annual reports to the Office of the Government and the Ministry of Planning and Investment for aggregation and submission to the Prime Minister in government monthly or annual meetings - The Government shall assign several authorities and organizations to independently carry out assessment and supervision of achievements of local regulatory authorities according to national standards and results of implementation of sustainable development action plan and Vietnam 2035 report - Impose penalties on entities that are irresponsible and have acts of harassment to citizens and enterprises - Seriously and effectively implement the Prime Minister’s Directive No.13/CT-TTg dated June 10, 2015 on responsibilities for administrative reform of heads of State administrative agencies of all levels The Ministry of Planning and Investment shall: - Conduct monitoring and supervision of compliance with regulations of the Law on Investment, law on Enterprises and guidance documents Instruct, inspect and accelerate regulatory authorities to monitoring the enforcement of laws on investment and business; promptly find out loopholes and real issues related to regulations in order to make amendment, supplementation or issue new regulations - Take charge of and cooperate with the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs , Social Security Administration of Vietnam to raise the ranking and score in “starting a business” and “protecting investors”, carry out assessment of conditional and unconditional business lines - Take charge of and cooperate with the Supreme People’s Court, compile and submit amendment and supplementation to the Government’s Decree No.22/2015/ND-CP dated February 16, 2015 detailing a number of Articles of the Law on Bankruptcy in order to improve the bankruptcy index - Take charge of and cooperation with the Ministry of Justice, the Office of the Government and relevant authorities in amendment and supplement to a number of Decrees in order to resolve difficulties in business and investment, create connection between procedures for land, construction, bidding and environment - Consider introducing online procedures for publishing enterprise information, changes in business registration and seals on the business registration national portal - Publish the list of enterprises which have been undergoing bankruptcy procedures via the business registration national portal - Enhance the effectiveness of construction bidding management Boost online bidding according to the Prime Minister’s roadmap - Cooperate with the Ministry of Justice in publishing of the list of asset management officials - Enhance the capacity to analyze private sector-related policies , especially policies affecting enterprises’ business - Aggregate and submit status reports on implementation of this Resolution to the Government in regular meetings held in the last month of every quarter and by the end of year The Ministry of Finance shall: - Apply information technology to at least 95% of work such as submission of tax declaration and tax payment - Publish tax refund database, check 100% of tax refund records and punctually and duly resolve 100% taxpayers’ complaints - Specify tax administration policies by level of risks and compliance with laws by taxpayers, determine the validity of economic transaction on the basis of payment transactions - Cooperate with the Ministry of Planning and Investment in development of an automated system granting TIN to enterprises - Apply information technology to management of imports and exports, ensure information transfer between specialized management authorities and the General Department of Customs and National Single-window Portal Take charge of and expedite regulatory authorities to successfully perform related duties specified in the master plan for implementation of national single-window system and ASEAN single-window in period 2016 – 2020 issued together with the Prime Minister’s Decision No.2185/QD-TTg dated November 14, 2016 - Take charge of and cooperate with relevant authorities in enhancement of efficiency of specialized inspection procedures at check points where have a large quantity of imports and exports and those under the specialized inspection prior to clearance - Upgrade and complete risk management mechanism, sort out goods before reaching ports to facilitate customs clearance or release goods as soon as they arrive the ports - Continue to complete and enhance the effectiveness of e-customs clearance systems, cooperate with relevant entities and enterprises operating in logistics, insurance and other relevant services in creation of connection for commercial information exchange Publish criteria for assessment of enterprises’ obedience to laws; amend legislative documents related to automated electronic customs clearance and ensure the harmony of those systems - Cooperate with the Ministry of Construction in management, supervision, examination and inspection of implementation of professional liability insurance for construction activities - Accelerate State-owned property assessment before transferring it to public service providers for management according to the capital transfer mechanism stipulated in the Government’s Decree No.02/2016/ND-CP dated January 06, 2016 on amendment and supplement to the Government’s Decree No.52/2009/ND-CP dated June 03, 2009 detailing and guiding a number of Articles of the Law on management and use f State-owned property The Social Security Administration of Vietnam shall: - Review documents and simplify procedures for declaration of revenues and spending, and issue social insurance and health insurance cards - Apply information technology, create network between social securities administration in 63 provinces, create a centralized social insurance database, introduce online procedures for declaration, payment and reimbursement of social insurance, health insurance and unemployment insurance Consider issuing electronic health insurance cards and integrate social insurance and unemployment insurance information into an electronic card - Improve the effectiveness of assessment of health insurance, create digital connection between hospitals and clinics; ensure punctual and correct health insurance reimbursement - Develop processes and procedures for inspection and examination of enterprises’ social insurance, health insurance and unemployment insurance Cooperate with the Ministry of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs and local governments in determination of the power and cooperation regime for inspection The Ministry of Industry and Trade shall: - Review and expedite specialized management authorities to release the list of goods under specialized inspection as stipulated in the Government’s Decree No.187/2013/ND-CP dated November 20, 2013 - Effectively implement the Circular No.24/2016/TT-BCT on reduction of electricity access time dated November 30, 2016 by the Ministry of Industry and Trade ; standardize the national electricity access process towards applying “interconnected single-window system” to State authorities and electricity groups to carry out procedures for “agreement on electrical lines, position of utility pole/substations, electrical poles and corridors ( including permits to dig roads and pavement) - Review, research, amend and supplement the Prime Minister's Decision No.35/2015/QD-TTg dated August 20, 2015 on issue of the list of essential goods and services for which general transaction conditions and sample contracts are applied towards eliminating a number of banking services ( including domestic debit cards, payment accounts for individuals and personal loans for consumption) from the List for the purpose of removal of unnecessary administrative procedures and reduction of costs for credit institutions and creation of the unanimity about state management authorities in charge of credit institutions' services - Submit the draft law on competition ( amended) to the National Assembly before December 2017, ensure fair competition, effectively control monopoly and business dominance Punctually address complaints about abuse of monopoly business dominance and centralization and completion restriction agreements, and detect and dealt with violations against laws on competition - Submit a draft policy framework in commerce to the National Assembly for the purpose of amendment to the Law on commerce before December 2017 The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development shall: - Before June 2017, radically resolve difficulties arising from a number of regulations of the Circular No.48/2013/TT-BNNPTNT dated November 12, 2013 on percentage of sample and method of shipment sampling for inspection; deadline for completion of the list of prioritized enterprises from the date on which such enterprises are assessed satisfactory; deadline for re-issue of the certificate of food safety - Study, amend and supplement regulations on enterprise and product ranking in specialized management and inspection of imported fisheries as stipulated in the Circular No.26/2016/TTBNNPTNT dated June 30, 2016 on principle for risk management and priorities - Take charge of and propose to amend and supplement regulations on specialized inspection and management of imports and export as stipulated in the law on plant protection and quarantine and law on veterinary towards applying management methods on the basis of risk of goods and compliance with laws by enterprises - Take charge of reviewing and cooperate with the Ministry of Science and Technology in issue of List of group-2 goods within the management of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development undergoing quality inspection prior to clearance and their HS code for the purpose of issuing, amending, supplementing or replacing the Circular No.30/2010/TT-BNNPTNT dated August 30, 2010 and Circular No.50/2009/TT-BNNPTNT dated August 18, 2009; consider putting low-risk goods through post-clearance inspection The Ministry of Science and Technology shall: - Take charge of researching and propose amending and supplementing regulations related to imports and exports quality control stipulated in the Law on product and goods quality and the Law on technical regulations and standards towards managing on the basis of level of risks and compliance with regulations of laws by enterprises and sharply shifting to post-clearance audit - Request the Prime Minister to consider annulling the Decision No.50/2006/QD-TTg dated March 7, 2006 on issue of the list of goods and products undergoing quality inspection as the Ordinance on goods quality and Decree No.179/2004/ND-CP pursuant to which the Decision is introduced are no longer valid - Take charge of and cooperate with the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development and specialized management authorities in review and abrogation or request for abrogation and amendment to regulations of certification of conformity, regulations on quality control which are unconformable to the Law on technical regulations and standards, the Law on quality of goods and products and law on food safety towards eliminating unnecessary administrative procedures, reducing time for conducting administrative procedures related to imports and exports, and focusing on post-clearance audit Study, amend and supplement the Circular No.23/2015/TT-BKHCN dated November 13, 2015 on import of used machinery, equipment, and technology lines by: Cooperating with the Ministry of Industry and Trade and specialized management authorities in creation of criteria for import of machinery and equipment by used lifetime (calculated from year of manufacture to year of import), not limit the used lifetime of 10 years for all machinery and equipment - Create and develop national innovation systems, innovation centers and technology incubators - Submit quarterly and annual reports on improvement of “innovation” indicators and indexes to the Ministry of Planning and Investment for submission to the Government at the quarterly and annual meetings The Ministry of National Defense shall: Abrogate regulations stipulating that border guards shall inspect and supervise imports, exports and import-export records prescribed in Article 12 of Circular No.09/2016/TT-BQP, ensure the conformity with the Law on Customs; study and propose to amend Article of the Ordinance on border guards The Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment shall: - Create and connect electronic networks to carry out administrative procedures for issue of the certificate of land use right, grant of land, land lease, land registration, certificate of construction works ownership and procedure for determination of land-related financial liabilities - Review, amend and supplement regulations on land towards reforming administrative procedures, reducing time for issue of certificate of construction works ownership - Intensify examination and inspection of compliance with regulations on announcement of vacant land, land which has yet to be leased or sublet in industrial zones, industrial clusters, processing, exporting zones and economic zones, and land granted or leased from the State but has yet to be used Facilitate lease/receipt of land by enterprises, especially SMEs - Study, amend and supplement regulations related to examination and inspection of environmental protection towards managing by level of risks of environmental pollution caused by manufacturers and business facilities - Provide specific guidance on application for scrap import as stipulated in the Circular No.41/2015/TT-BTNMT dated September 9, 2015 in case of issue of certificates of eligibility for import of scraps as production materials - Apply interconnected mechanism for inspection and certification of environmental protection programs in period of operation or acceptance of project towards establishing inter-sectoral teams in charge by the State management authorities, except for programs required to undergo commissioning 10 The Ministry of Justice shall: - Punctually assess projects and draft legislative documents, supervise and expedite Ministries and Ministerial-level agencies to compile documents detailing implementation of laws, ordinance, decree or the Prime Minister’s Decision related to business and investment - Cooperate with the Supreme People’s Court in completion of legislative documents related to enforcement of the 2015 Code of Civil Procedure, accelerate settlement of contractual disputes towards simplifying procedures and record contents and , removing unnecessary procedures and documents, reducing time and costs of settlement of commercial disputes - Consider issuing or propose to issue regulations on commercial mediation and establish mechanism for dispute settlement via commercial mediation - Promote the development of asset management officers, arbitrators, lawyers, especially commercial lawyers 11 The Ministry of Home Affairs shall: - Continue to implement the State administrative reform master plan in period 2011- 2020 and administrative reform plan in period 2016 – 2020; scheme for strengthening the capacity of officials in charge of administrative reforms and scheme for measuring the satisfaction in State administrative agencies’ services - Intensify the examination and inspection and take actions against acts of harassment related to administrative procedures 12 The Ministry of Transport shall: - Apply management models by level of risks of goods and compliance with laws on specialized inspection and management by enterprises - Simplify administrative procedures, create online connection to the national single-window portal to facilitate receipt and release of specialized inspection results - Take charge of and cooperate with the Ministry of Industry and Trade and the Ministry of Construction in review, amendment and supplementation to procedures for agreement on utility pole or electrical pole and electrical grid corridors, and issue of the construction permit in case the electrical works is located, in whole or in part, in the land plots for construction works prescribed in the Government’s Decree No.11/2010/ND-CP dated February 24, 2010 on management and protection of road infrastructures 13 The Ministry of Construction shall: - Continue to review and reform administrative procedures for issuing the construction permit, step up application of information technology, reduce time for issuing the construction permit ( including assessment of basic design, technical design and issue of the construction permit) - Take charge of and cooperate with relevant regulatory authorities to maintain and strengthen quality control including control of the effect of construction regulations; assure the quality prior to construction and after construction, define legal liabilities of every subjects after construction, manage and issue practice certificates and certificate of competency in construction - Cooperate with the Ministry of Public Security in research and proposal for combination of the procedures for assessment of fire safety design with procedures for assessment of projects and construction design; cooperate with the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment in issue of the certificate of construction works ownership Cooperate with the Ministry of Finance in management, supervision, examination and inspection of implementation of professional liability insurance for construction activities - Resolve difficulties enterprises encounter when going through procedures for issue of the construction permit as stipulated in the Government’s Decree No.59/2015/ND-CP dated June 18, 2015 on construction project management.16 Review and reform administrative procedures and regulations related to clean water supply and production towards giving permission for involvement of private sectors, simplify administrative procedures, reduce time for conducting such procedures and introduce online procedure for negotiation, connection, water supply and drainage - Take charge of and cooperate with the Ministry of Public Security in acceptance of construction works and fire safety works online procedures, reduce time for licensing construction permit Construction Introduce day simplified and online procedures for construction commencement and inspection to the Departments of Construction Undertaken by the Ministry of Construction Reduce times for days construction inspection after completion of the foundation Undertaken by the Ministry of Construction Reduce times for days construction inspection after completion of rough-in state of construction Undertaken by the Ministry of Construction Introduce online day procedure for registration of water supply and drainage Undertaken by the People’s Committees of provinces Number of days day of field survey by water supply and drainage firms Undertaken by the People’s Committees of provinces Reduce time for 14 days water supply and drainage connection Undertaken by the People’s Committees of provinces Reduce times for day as-built construction inspection Undertaken by the Ministry of Construction In cooperation with People’s Committees of provinces In cooperation with People’s Committees of provinces In cooperation with People’s Committees of provinces In cooperation with People’s Committees of provinces In cooperation with People’s Committees of provinces 10 Simplify and introduce online procedure, and reduce time for registration of property ownership after as-built Quality Effective of measureme construction nt quality control ( band score: 015), including 30 days Undertaken by the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment in cooperation with the Ministry of Construction and People’s Committees of provinces 12 Undertaken by the Ministry of Construction In cooperation with People’s Committees of provinces - Enforcement of construction regulations - Quality control prior construction - Quality control in process of construction - Quality control after completion - Insurance and legal liability - Management and issue of practice certificates (3) Getting electricity Ranking: 96 Ranking: 70 procedures procedure s 46 days Simplify and days introduce online procedure for new electricity supply and connection processes Less than Less than 35 days 30 days Undertaken by the Ministry of Industry and Trade (Vietnam Electricity) In cooperation with the Ministry of Undertaken by the Ministry of Industry and Trade (Vietnam Electricity) In cooperation with People’s Committees of provinces Do power survey day Undertaken by the Ministry of Industry and Trade (Vietnam Electricity) In cooperation with People’s Committees of provinces Simplify and 15 days introduce integrated procedures for agreement on electrical lines, position of utility poles/substations, electrical poles and electrical grid corridors ( including procedures for licensing for road/pavement digging/certificati on of conformity to the electrical grid planning) The Ministry of Industry and Trade shall be responsible for procedure for certification of conformity to the electrical grid planning Improve 20 days + efficiency and VND reduce time and 544,000,000 costs of design and construction of electrical works Undertaken by the Ministry of Industry and Trade (Vietnam Electricity) Reduce times for days installation of power meters, signing Power purchase agreement (PPA) and power closure Undertaken by the Ministry of Industry and Trade (Vietnam Electricity) The Ministry of Construction and People’s Committees shall be responsible for procedures for agreement on electrical lines, position of utility poles/substations, electrical poles and electrical grid corridors and procedures for licensing for road/pavement digging In cooperation with People’s Committees of provinces In cooperation with People’s Committees of provinces Quality Facilitate more measureme reliable power nt supply and transparency of power price ( score band : 0-8) (4) Registering property Undertaken by the Ministry of Industry and Trade (Vietnam Electricity) In cooperation with the People’s Committees of provinces Ranking: 59 procedures 57.5 days Less than Less 20 days than 15 days Undertaken by the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment in cooperation with the Number of days day for preparation of documents on transfer of land use right and its property thereon Undertaken by the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment Examination of day ( online agreement procedures) contents signed by parties or documents on ethical and legal property by notaries Undertaken by the Ministry of Justice Number of days for signing a transfer agreement in the presence and certification of notaries day Undertaken by the Ministry of Justice Simplify procedures and reduce time for paying land use right tariffs and registration fees 25-30 days Simplify and introduce online procedures, and reduce time for In cooperation with People’s Committees of provinces In cooperation with People’s Committees of provinces Undertaken by the Ministry of Finance In cooperation with People’s Committees of provinces Undertaken by the Ministry of Natural Resources and registering land use rights Environment In cooperation with People’s Committees of provinces Quality Quality and measureme effectiveness of nt land administrative procedures (score band: 0-30) (5) Getting credit 14 Undertaken by the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment In cooperation with People’s Committees of provinces Ranking: 32 Ranking: Ranking:Undertaken by the 30 25 State Bank In cooperation with the Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of Industry and Trade (Vietnam Electricity, Ministry of Information and Communications, Vietnam Post and Telecommunication Group, Mobifone ) and People’s Committees of provinces Strength of legal right index ( score band: 0- 12) Protect rights of borrowers and lenders; protect rights of creditors Expand the scope and accessibility of information provided by both public and private credit firms ( score band: 0- 8) Coverage of 41.8% public credit information center (% adult) Number of Undertaken by the State Bank In cooperation with the Ministry of Justice Undertaken by the State Bank With cooperation of the Ministry of Industry and Trade (Vietnam Electricity, individual and business customers using the public credit information company’s data store for archive (% adult pop) mobifone and VNPT Groups) Coverage of 14.8% private credit information center (% adult) Number of individual and business customers using the private credit information company’ data store for archive (% adult pop) (6) Strength of investor protection Ranking: 87 Ranking: Ranking: Undertaken by the 80 60 Ministry of Planning and Investment and People’s Committee of provinces (7) Paying taxes and social insurance premiums Ranking:167 540 hours amount of taxes and social insurance premium per profit: 39.4% Undertaken by the Ministry of Finance and Social Security Less Less than 168 than 168 Administration of Vietnam hours hours Simplify and 189 hours 49 hours introduce online procedure and Social reduce time for insurance paying social premium per insurance profit: 24.8% premiums In cooperation with the Ministry of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs, Ministry of Health, Ministry of Finance and people’s Committees of provinces Undertaken by the Social Security Administration of Vietnam In cooperation with the Ministry of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs , Ministry of Health , Ministry of Finance and people’s Committees of provinces Simplify and introduce online procedures and reduce time for paying corporate income taxes - 351 hours 119 hours Undertaken by the Ministry of Finance - Corporate income tax/profit: 14.4% - Other taxes/profit: 0.1% Improve effectiveness of procedures for tax refund, tax inspection and complaints ( score band: – 1000) (8) (9) (10) 38.9 Simplify and Ranking: 93 introduce online procedures, and cut down on costs and time for trading across borders Undertaken by the Ministry of Finance The Ministry of Finance shall be responsible for customs procedures relevant regulatory authorities such as the Ministry of Finance , Number of days 108 hours 70 hours 60 hours the Ministry of for export process Science and Number of days 138 hours 90 hours 80 hours Technology, the for import process Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Effectiveness Ranking: 69 The Supreme Development, and number of People’s Court is Ministry of days of supposed to take 400 days Less Less Construction, settlement of than 300 than 200 charge of with the Ministry of National disputes over cooperation with the days days defense, Ministry of contracts Ministry of Justice Culture, Tourism and and People’s Sports and Ministry Committees of of Rural and provinces Agricultural development Business Ranking: The Supremeshall be responsible for is reform recovery and 125 People’s Court in management insolvency supposed to takeand Less Less inspection resolution of procedures years ( 60 than 30 than 24 charge months) months months In cooperation with the Ministry of Justice, Ministry of Planning and Investment and People’s Committees of provinces ANNEX III REGULATORY AUTHORITIES’ RESPONSIBILITIES FOR COMPETITIVENESS ENHANCEMENT (ACCORDING TO WORLD ECONOMIC FORUM’S APPROACHES) (Enclosed with the Government's Resolution No.19-2017/NQ-CP dated February 06, 2017) No Duties Achievements Targets 2017 Achievements Targets 2017 - 2020Governing/cooperating authorities 2020 Scores Ranking Scores Ranking Enhance the competitiveness A Basic requirements Pillar Institutions Property rights 4.3 60/138 4.6 4.5 73 4.8 3.8 82 4.0 97 36 The ranking and score is determined based on indicator group scores and respective weighing factors Undertaken by the Ministry of Justice In cooperation with the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, Ministry of Science and Technology and People's Committees of Provinces intellectual property protection 3.7 92 Undertaken by the Ministry of Science and Technology Diversion of public funds 3.8 59 All regulatory authorities Public trust in politicians 3.6 47 All regulatory authorities Irregular payment and bribes 3.3 104 All regulatory authorities Judicial independence 3.5 92 The Supreme People’s Court is supposed to take charge of In cooperation with the Ministry of Justice and People’s Committees of provinces Favoritism in decisions of governmental officials 3.3 58 All regulatory authorities Wastefulness of government spending 2.9 82 All regulatory authorities Burden of government regulation 3.2 88 All regulatory authorities 10 Efficiency of legal framework in settling disputes 3.5 72 The Supreme People’s Court is supposed to take charge of In cooperation with the Ministry of Justice and People’s Committees of provinces 11 Efficiency of legal framework in challenging regulations 3.5 69 Undertaken by the Ministry of Justice With the cooperation of the Ministry of Industry and Trade, Ministry of Planning and Investment and Ministry of Foreign Affairs 12 Transparency of government policymaking 3.8 88 All regulatory authorities 13 Business cost of terrorism 5.2 72 Undertaken by the Ministry of Public Security With the cooperation the Ministry of National Defense and Ministry of Foreign Affairs 14 Business cost of crime and violence 4.7 68 Undertaken by the Ministry of Public Security In cooperation with the Ministry of National Defense 15 Organized crime 4.9 75 Undertaken by the Ministry of Public Security In cooperation with the Ministry of National Defense 16 Reliability of public services 4.2 82 Undertaken by the Ministry of Public Security 17 Ethical behavior of firms 3.6 84 All regulatory authorities 18 Strength of auditing and report standards 3.6 122 Undertaken by the State Audit Office of Vietnam and Ministry of Finance 19 Efficacy of corporate boards 4.0 129 Undertaken by the Ministry of Planning and Investment In cooperation with Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and People’s of Committees of provinces 20 Protection of minority shareholders ‘interests 3.7 102 Undertaken by the Ministry of Planning and Investment In cooperation with the People’s Committees of provinces 21 Strength of investor protection 4.5 101 Undertaken by the Ministry of Planning and Investment In cooperation with the regulatory authorities and People’s Committees of provinces Pillar Infrastructure 3.9 79 Quality of overall infrastructure 3.6 85 All regulatory authorities Quality of roads 3.5 89 Undertaken by the Ministry of Transport In cooperation with the Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Planning and Investment and People’s Committees of provinces Quality of railroad infrastructure 3.1 52 Undertaken by the Ministry of Transport In cooperation with the Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Planning and Investment and People’s Committees of provinces Quality of port infrastructure 3.8 77 Undertaken by the Ministry of Transport In cooperation with the Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Planning and Investment and People’s Committees of provinces Quality of air transport infrastructure 4.1 86 Undertaken by the Ministry of Transport In cooperation with the Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Planning and Investment and People’s Committees of provinces Available airline seat (million km/week) 1194.7 29 Undertaken by the Ministry of Transport Quality of electricity supply Mobile telephone subscriptions (per /100 pop) Fixed telephone subscriptions (per /100 pop) Pillar Macroeconomic environment Government budget balance (% GDP) 4.4 85 Undertaken by the Ministry of Industry and Trade (Vietnam Electricity) in cooperation with the People’s Committees of provinces 130.6 40 Undertaken by the Ministry of Information and Communications 6.3 99 Undertaken by the Ministry of Information and Communications 4.5 77 -6.5 116 Undertaken by the Ministry of Planning and Investment In cooperation with the Ministry of Finance Gross national savings (% GDP) 29.0 24 Undertaken by the Ministry of Planning and Investment In cooperation with the Ministry of Finance Inflation (annual % change) 0.6 The State Bank of Vietnam, Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Planning and Investment, Ministry of Industry and Trade and regulatory authorities Government debts (% GDP) 59.3 87 All regulatory authorities Country credit rating, 0-100 (best) 71 Undertaken by the Ministry of Finance In cooperation with all regulatory authorities Pillar Health and primary education 5.8 65 Malaria cases/ 100,000 pop 24.9 24 Undertaken by the Ministry of Health Business impact of malaria 4.7 39 Undertaken by the Ministry of Health Tuberculosis cases/ 100,000 pop 140.0 102 Undertaken by the Ministry of Health Business impact of tuberculosis 4.5 103 Undertaken by the Ministry of Health HIV prevalence, adult pop 0.5 85 Undertaken by the Ministry of Health Business impact of HIV/AIDS 4.5 108 Undertaken by the Ministry of Health Infant mortality (death/1,000 live births) 17.3 83 Undertaken by the Ministry of Health Life expectancy (years) 75.6 56 Undertaken by the Ministry of Health Quality of primary education 3.4 92 Undertaken by the Ministry of Education and Training 10 Primary education enrolment 98.0 30 Undertaken by the Ministry of Education and Training B Efficacy enhancement 4.1 65 Pillar Higher education and training 4.1 83 4.4 Secondary education enrolment ratio (%) 92.5 70 Undertaken by the Ministry of Education and Training Tertiary education and vocational education enrolment (%) 30.5 83 Undertaken by the Ministry of Education and Training Quality of education system 3.6 76 Undertaken by the Ministry of Education and Training Quality of math and science education 3.9 78 Undertaken by the Ministry of Education and Training Quality of management schools 3.4 122 Undertaken by the Ministry of Education and Training Internet access in school 4.2 71 Undertaken by the Ministry of Education and Training Availability of specialized training services 3.7 110 Undertaken by the Ministry of Education and Training and the Ministry of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs In cooperation with the People’s Committees of provinces Extent of staff training 3.9 70 Undertaken by the Ministry of Home Affairs In cooperation with all regulatory authorities Pillar Goods market efficiency 4.2 81 Intensity of local competition 5.0 80 All regulatory authorities Extent of market dominance 3.6 71 All regulatory authorities Effectiveness of anti-monopoly policy 3.5 89 Undertaken by the Ministry of Industry and Trade In cooperation with all regulatory authorities Effect of taxation on incentives to invest 3.6 75 Undertaken by the Ministry of Finance In cooperation with the Ministry of Planning and Investment Total tax rate (both taxes and social insurance) ( % profit) 39.4 75 The Ministry of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs takes charge of social security and unemployment insurance The Ministry of Finance takes charge of corporate income tax; the Ministry of Health takes charge of health insurance Number of procedure to start a business 10 116 Undertaken by the Ministry of Planning and Investment In cooperation with the Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs, Ministry of Health, Social Security Administration of Vietnam and People’s Committees of province Number of days to start a business 20.0 103 Undertaken by the Ministry of Planning and Investment In cooperation with the Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs, Ministry of Health, Social Security Administration of Vietnam and People’s Committees of province Agricultural policy costs 3.9 58 Undertaken by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development In cooperation with the People’s Committees of provinces Prevalence of non-tariff barriers 3.9 108 The Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Industry and Trade, Ministry of Science and Technology, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, Ministry of Transport, Ministry of Health, Ministry of Information and communications, the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, Ministry of Construction, Ministry of National Defense and the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism shall take on responsibilities 10 Trade tariffs 7.9 91 Undertaken by the Ministry of Finance 11 Prevalence of foreign ownership 4.2 88 Undertaken by the Ministry of Planning and Investment In cooperation with all regulatory authorities 12 Business impact of rules on FDI 4.2 94 Undertaken by the Ministry of Planning and Investment In cooperation with all regulatory authorities 13 Burden of customs procedures 3.5 103 14 Imports as percentage of GDP 94.7 All regulatory authorities 15 Degree of customer orientation 4.1 109 All regulatory authorities 16 Buyer sophistication 3.5 62 All regulatory authorities 4.3 63 4.3 79 Pillar Labour market efficiency Cooperation in labor-employer relations Undertaken by the Ministry of Finance Undertaken by the Ministry of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs In cooperation with the People’s Committees of provinces Flexibility of wage determination 4.8 84 Undertaken by the Ministry of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs In cooperation with the People’s Committees of provinces Hiring and firing practices 4.1 42 Undertaken by the Ministry of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs In cooperation with the People’s Committees of provinces Redundancy costs ( weeks of salary) 24.6 104 Undertaken by the Ministry of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs In cooperation with the People’s Committees of provinces Effect of taxation on incentives to work 3.8 76 Undertaken by the Ministry of Finance Pay and productivity 4.0 62 Undertaken by the Ministry of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs In cooperation with the People’s Committees of provinces Reliance on professional management 3.6 106 Undertaken by the Ministry of Home Affairs In cooperation with all regulatory authorities Country capacity to retain talent 3.2 87 Undertaken by the Ministry of Home Affairs In cooperation with all regulatory authorities Country capacity to attract talent 3.3 74 Undertaken by the Ministry of Home Affairs In cooperation with all regulatory authorities 10 Women in labor force (ratio to men) 0.92 24 Undertaken by the Ministry of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs In cooperation with all regulatory authorities Pillar Financial market development Availability of financial services 3.9 78 4.1 82 Undertaken by the State Bank In cooperation with the Ministry of Finance and State Securities Commission Affordability of financial services 3.9 61 Undertaken by the State Bank In cooperation with the Ministry of Finance and State Securities Commission Financing through local equity market 3.8 56 Undertaken by the State Securities Commission Ease of access to loan 3.6 83 Undertaken by the State Bank Venture capital availability 3.2 43 Undertaken by the Ministry of Planning and Investment In cooperation with the Ministry of Finance and regulatory authorities Soundness of banks 3.8 117 Undertaken by the State Bank Regulations on securities exchanges 3.8 102 Undertaken by the State Securities Commission Legal right index, ( for protection of rights of borrowers and lenders) 0-10 (best) 7.0 28 Undertaken by the State Bank In cooperation with the Ministry of Justice Pillar Technology readiness Availability of latest technology 3.5 92 4.1 106 Undertaken by the Ministry of Science and Technology In cooperation with all regulatory authorities Firm-level technology absorption 4.4 78 Undertaken by the Ministry of Science and Technology In cooperation with all regulatory authorities FDI and technology transfer 4.2 83 Undertaken by the Ministry of Science and Technology In cooperation with the Ministry of Planning and Investment and all regulatory authorities Individuals using internet (% pop) 52.7 73 Undertaken by the Ministry of Information and Communications In cooperation with all regulatory authorities Fixed-broadband Internet subscriptions / 100 pop 8.1 75 Undertaken by the Ministry of Information and Communications In cooperation with all regulatory authorities International internet bandwidth (kb/s per user) 24.4 85 Undertaken by the Ministry of Information and Communications In cooperation with all regulatory authorities Mobile-broadband subscriptions per 100 pop 39.0 91 Undertaken by the Ministry of Information and Communications In cooperation with all regulatory authorities Pillar Market size 10 Domestic market size 4.8 32 4.5 35 Undertaken by the Ministry of Industry and Trade In cooperation with all regulatory authorities Foreign market size 5.8 25 Undertaken by the Ministry of Industry and Trade In cooperation with all regulatory authorities GDP (PPP USD) 552.3 35 All regulatory authorities Exports as percentage of GDP 90.4 11 All regulatory authorities C Innovation and sophistication 3.5 84 3.6 96 Pillar Business sophistication 3.8 11 Local supplier quantity 4.3 86 Undertaken by the Ministry of Industry and Trade In cooperation with all regulatory authorities Local supplier quality 3.7 109 Undertaken by the Ministry of Industry and Trade In cooperation with all regulatory authorities State of cluster development 3.9 53 Undertaken by the Ministry of Industry and Trade In cooperation with all regulatory authorities Nature of competitive advantage 3.1 92 All regulatory authorities Value chain breadth 3.3 112 Undertaken by the Ministry of Industry and Trade In cooperation with all regulatory authorities Control of international distribution 3.6 72 Undertaken by the Ministry of Industry and Trade In cooperation with all regulatory authorities Production process sophistication 3.5 91 All regulatory authorities Extent of marketing 4.1 99 All regulatory authorities Willingness to delegate authority 3.3 111 All regulatory authorities 3.3 73 Pillar Innovation 12 Capacity for innovation 4.0 79 Undertaken by the Ministry of Science and Technology Quality of scientific research institutions 3.4 98 Undertaken by the Ministry of Science and Technology Company spending on R & D 3.5 49 Undertaken by the Ministry of Science and Technology In cooperation with the People’s Committees of provinces University – industry collaboration in R&D 3.3 79 Undertaken by the Ministry of Science and Technology In cooperation with the Ministry of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs, Ministry of Education and Training and People’s Committees of provinces Government procurement of advanced technology products 3.8 27 Undertaken by the Ministry of Science and Technology In cooperation with all regulatory authorities Availability of scientists and engineers 3.8 84 Undertaken by the Ministry of Education and Training In cooperation with the Ministry of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs and Ministry of Science and Technology PCT patents, applications per million pop 0.2 95 Undertaken by the Ministry of Science and Technology In cooperation with all regulatory authorities ANNEX IV REGULATORY AUTHORITIES’ RESPONSIBILITIES FOR INNOVATION (Enclosed with the Government's Resolution No.19-2017/NQ-CP dated February 06, 2017) No Duties AchievementsT Targets 2017 Achievements argets 2017 - 2020Governing/cooperating 2020 authorities Score Rankin ScoresRanking s g Capacity for innovation Institutions 1.1 Political environment Policy stability and safety 35.4 59 38.5 51.7 93 55.0 50 65 62.8 66 44 The score and ranking are determined based on the scores of pillars Undertaken by the Ministry of Public Security In cooperation with the Ministry of National Defense and all regulatory authorities Government effectiveness 37.3 72 Undertaken by the Office of the Government In cooperation with all regulatory authorities 1.2 Regulatory environment Regulatory quality 51 106 30.1 103 Undertaken by the Ministry of Justice In cooperation with all regulatory authorities Rules of law 39.4 76 Cost of redundancy dismissal 24.6 101 54.2 116 81.3 88 1.3 Business environment Ease of starting a business All regulatory authorities Undertaken by the Ministry of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs in cooperation with the people’s Committees of provinces Undertaken by the Ministry of Planning and Investment In cooperation with the Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs , Ministry of ... capacity to update international regulations on investment and business; enhance the capacity to settle disputes over international trade to protect domestic enterprises'' legal interests - Perform... degree in printing; regulations on licensing to foreign printing contracts, etc.) - Study and propose measures for promoting information technology- telecommunication start-ups - Submit quarterly and. .. Departments of Construction Undertaken by the Ministry of Construction Reduce times for days construction inspection after completion of the foundation Undertaken by the Ministry of Construction